The last demon swung his blade towards his gun, causing him to let go of his banishing gun as the weapon flew off to the other side of the forest. The demon laughed at him smugly, thinking that the feat was from their own merit. They didn't realize that the gun already ran out of bullets and that he was using that opportunity to pick up one of the machetes lying on the ground that used to belong to the dead demons around them.
Sanzo strengthened his grip on the machete as the demon just rolled his eyes at him.
Think that he couldn't fight using any other weapon but his 'trusty' banishing gun, eh? Then the idiot demon would soon learn his mistake of underestimating his will to live!
The demon lunged toward him as Sanzo twisted his body to the side, evading the blade aimed at his neck. He ducked as the blade made another sweep for his head before Sanzo used the chance to slash the demon's leg. The demon let out a bloodcurdling cry as Sanzo got to his feet and pierced the demon's chest with his blade.
The last demon dropped to the ground without making any more sound. Thank heavens. Because he no longer had any strength to keep on fighting that feisty one.
Sanzo allowed himself to collapse to the ground so that he could catch his breath. This was why he preferred to leave most of the brawling action to the three stooges whenever possible. Because there's no way he'd last long fighting like this with his limited stamina.
Sanzo got back on his feet before letting out a big sigh. He picked up his fallen gun before securing it back to the mini holster he custom-made by attaching it to the arm cover on his left arm.
He glanced at the field of dead demon bodies all around him.
How did his younger self manage to do this all the time back then with his short stature and limited strength? Suppose desperation can make people achieve surprising feats.
xxx
"—Be strong, Kouryuu..."
He let out a cry before pushing himself back to his feet. He shook his head hard to try to push the thought of killing himself to the back of his mind.
The rest of his trip down the mountain thankfully turned out to be quite 'unexciting'. Once he reached the nearest town he immediately search for any inn where he could stay for the night. And he definitely surprised the innkeeper at the first inn he encountered, seeing how young and ragged he appeared. The old lady end up taking pity on him and offered a room at no charge. That was fine with him because all he cared about now was to get some needed sleep, if possible. Also another saving grace, the old lady didn't even ask what happened to him before coming to the town.
Right away after entering his rented room, young Genjo Sanzo threw his small body onto the large bed at the edge of the room.
xxx
Sanzo huffed at himself as he recalled the first night he had spent after he was able to leave the mountain where Kinzan temple was situated. He used to have a very hard time back then. He couldn't even risk camping out in the open for fear of being ambushed in his sleep. And he barely ate or drink while trying to avoid encountering demons or muggers that would try to come after him. But nowadays, he had those three idiots with him...
Now that he was thinking about it, his fighting skills did improve a lot since back then. Part of that was due to the four years he had spent travelling alone, but he couldn't deny that all those times back then training Goku to fight properly when the boy was younger had helped as well. Not to mention later how Hakkai had thought him some tricks to keep his stamina longer while fighting for a long period of time. It's all about the breathing techniques...
Sanzo paused again as he took another long breath to keep himself steady. His vision was starting to fail him and he could feel his strength failing. He must've been losing a lot of blood by now.
He really needed to get back to those three as soon as possible...
Sanzo glanced up again as he saw the entrance to the stupid town belonging to that stupid cleric. Well, at least he was closer to his destination now.
.
He groaned aloud as he saw the big mob surrounding the cleric's mansion. And he could see the trio being cornered in the middle of the courtyard.
So it's not just the cleric and his men who were into the secret. The whole bloody townfolks were also complicit with the scheme.
Sanzo took out the small satchel from inside his robe. He grimaced as he saw that his bullet reserve was almost empty. (Well, he still got more supply for his bullets... but those were inside their luggage back at the inn. And he hadn't the time to go back to get it!) He took out a single bullet before putting back the satchel inside the folds of his robes. Sanzo loaded the single bullet into his gun before aiming it at the sky...
.
As he expected it, the stupid mob parted in two after his gunshot echoed throughout the area. And now he could easily pinpoint his final 'destination' with utmost clarity.
It was Goku, his ultimate safe 'place'. The last light that he could always cling on for strength—!
Sanzo placed a hand over his injured arm as he walked towards that 'light', focusing on just the sight of Goku in his eyes as he willed himself to keep walking. He told himself to not fall before then... and just as he staggered in his last steps, Goku caught his body when his strength finally wore out.
The feeling of Goku's warmth against his body overwhelmed his whole being with a great sense of relief.
"—As I have thought, this is different from the time when I was younger..."